With Game Day rapidly approaching, you can bet that there is a whole lot of menu planning going on right now. Perennial favorites for Packer fans include pretty much anything on a bun, but especially bratwurst. Even during this time of year, the grilling machines will be unearthed from the mountains of snow and fired up to give the grill a much needed winter workout. Brats are a Wisconsin tradition, and we’re lucky enough to have an amazing local meat market that makes the best brats we’ve ever experienced. For those who don’t have a great meat market nearby, Johnsonville brats are our standard go-to when we can’t get to the market.
For the Tomato Bowl, I was giving some thought to these brats which will be on our Game Day menu, and I was trying to figure out how to elevate bratwurst to be something more than a cooked sausage smeared with mustard and horseradish. I wondered how one would add tomatoes in some form. I’ve had sliced tomatoes on sausage, and ketchup of course, but what about something that takes a humble sausage (or burger, if that’s your poision) and elevates it to something truly special?
My friends, I have for you a luscious and decadent Tomato Jam. Made entirely from pantry staples, this jam will elevate anything you eat it with. Reminiscent of ketchup, this slightly sweet, slightly herbal spoonful of tomato goodness is delicious enough to just eat with a spoon. Made in advance, it should keep sealed in the fridge for up to two weeks. It tastes best after it’s had at least a day to chill, so it’s a great make-ahead addition to your upcoming football celebration. It takes a little bit of time to come together, but it’s mostly inactive time on your part. Just stir it every once in a while and let it do its thing.
Here are our ingredients:
Combine all the ingredients, except the lemon juice, in a 2-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat just a bit, so that it’s still boiling, but not boiling over.
Cook for approximately 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mixture is nice and thick. Most of the liquid should have evaporated off. Turn off the heat and let cool for about 30 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice, and then put the jam in a container and store it in the fridge at least overnight and up to two weeks.
Makes 1 pint of tomato jam.
Serve the tomato jam anywhere you would normally serve ketchup. It really elevates a grilled cheese sandwich.
And of course, there’s my original intention of serving over a sausage. In this case, it’s a natural casing, preservative free hot dog.
I have to admit, this jam turned out way better than I had anticipated. When I first tasted it out of the pot, it seemed awfully sweet, and I thought about cutting back on the sugar a bit. But as it sat, the flavors really combined and the sweetness mellowed completely. I think it’s perfect just as it is. You really would never know that this was made with canned tomatoes, and an unknowing soul would just have to ask where you got such flavorful tomatoes in the dead of winter. I’m sure the fine folks at Red Gold won’t mind if you share your secret.
Wow, I have never heard of tomato jam before! It sounds really good, after you said to add it to grilled cheese! Mmmmm I will have to try this one!
Tamara, I’ve seen canned/preserved tomato jam before, but never a freshly made one. I’ve certainly never had it before, but now that I have… Wow! I’ve never actually liked the taste of ketchup, yet I squirt it on the usual suspects. If I had a jar of this around, I would never use ketchup again.
Just thinking about eating some nice fat potato wedges or oven fries with this jam is making my knees weak. Omg, I have to try that next.
Hey buddy, why did I think you lived in Middleton? Anyway, I’ll leave the making of tomato jam to you, lol. Sounds good, I’m far to lazy and was lucky to scrape together some salsa. You like cook things and stuff, I open and occasionally cut things.
Let’s hear it for Pantry Staples! Are you guys getting this ridiculous weather or did it head straight to Milwaukee?
Lol! Nope, never lived in Middleton. Looks like we might get lucky with the weather. The blizzard warning ends literally 1 mile to the south of us… so far just crazy wind and probable 4 inches of new snow. The smallest shift though…
Not sure where I got that idea. Did it miss you? Milwaukee looked pretty miserable today on Ellen. (They had fans from both sides headed to Dallas and they got stranded in Milwaukee.)
Yep, it missed us! We got maybe 6 inches of snow between the two dumpings of snow. The wind was something else, but that was overnight anyway.